I am Afghanistan

what we set out to do:

Rogue Foundation traveled to Afghanistan to Le Pelican School in Kabul, a bastion to Hazarra children.  The Hazarra are the  the most persecuted ethnic group in that region and simply attending school can be a threatening experience, especially for girls.

The paintings the children created for the show depict the lands and homes they were forced to leave behind. Other paintings conjure new homes they wish they could inhabit someday.

For Hazara children, an education, especially for women, is considered an impossible dream.  The proceeds from the I Am Afghanistan exhibition helped fund Le Pelican’s mission of helping Afghan children in need.

what we accomplished:

I am Bangladesh

These paintings were some of the first created by children living in slums in the inner city of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Rohingya refugee children in the camps on the border of Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The paintings are 16x11” inches and are acrylic on linen paper. Paintings will be shipped in protective tubes anywhere in the world and 100% of proceeds are returned to support the children’s further education.

I am Syria

what we set out to do:

Rogue Foundation completed an art project with boys and girls at refugee camps on the Syrian-Lebanese border at the end of November, collaborating with NGO Relief and Reconciliation for Syria.

The I Am Syria project specifically assisted R&R Syria’s program of trauma support for children who have been affected by the conflict.  A benefit exhibition took place at Rogue Space | Chelsea in March.

Each Rogue Foundation project’s intent is to provide children with the materials, venue and encouragement to paint, and an outlet to express at a critical time in their lives and to support their further education.

what we accomplished:

 

I am Haiti

What we set out to do:

Our initial project focused on Haiti, following the devastating earthquake in 2010. There, children of the Maranatha School and Orphanage were invited to paint their hopes for the future. The 200+ images inspired the “I Am Haiti” exhibition.

Sales from the exhibition funded the rebuilding of their school, destroyed in the disaster.  The children’s artwork was then commissioned to be made into luxury cashmere scarves as the annual corporate gift presented by Conde Nast to their executives and top clients.

Today Maranatha has 295 full time students and is the best school in north Port-Au-Prince with students routinely scoring at the top of national averages.  We have since made five trips back to visit the children at Marantha and are delighted they are now doing so well.  Some have even gone on to work as professional artists!

WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED:

I am home, New York

What we set out to do:

Rogue Foundation collaborated with Art Start in working with children living in homeless shelters in New York.  Artists from around the world were invited to donate works created around the theme of Home.  We supplied art supplies for the Art Start family of children to paint their vision of home.  The ensuing exhibition at Rogue Space | Chelsea benefited a series of workshops for the children with established Chelsea artists.

What we accomplished:

 

I am Palestine

What we set out to do:

I Am Palestine was the sixth in a series of exhibitions by Rogue Foundation featuring the work of children in conflict zones around the world, expanding on I Am Haiti, I Am Afghanistan, I Am Syria, I am New York and I Am Congo.  I Am Palestine was a collaboration with the wonderful organization Beyond The Armor whose combined energy made the exhibition a great success. 

In February, 2015 we completed the I Am Palestine art project with the children of the Dheisheh refugee camp at Laylac Center,  a progressive community-based organization supporting children though creativity projects.

The children of Deheisheh in Palestine’s West Bank have never seen the Sea, even though it is only an hour drive away.

The children were invited invited to express themselves for the first time with colors and paint what they imagined the sea looks like.

Their artwork was exhibited at Rogue Space | Chelsea and was a major success realizing more than $10,000 in sales,  100% of which was returned to Laylac Center in purchased art and computer supplies.  

We asked the children to express and create and in return they had an exhibition of their work in the center of the art world in Chelsea, and they realized the acquisition of art supplies which they are still using today.   It was a success that they experienced and an event we hope will inspire them to reach for further successes in life through imagination and creativity.

Given the impossibility of shipping such a large quality of materials to Palestine, we literally carried everything in huge cargo bags by hand and delivered them in person to the children.   We became art mules!  In the video below you can experience their joy at the success of their project.

I am Palestine was a collaboration between Rogue Foundation and Beyond the Armor, a non-profit organization created by a group of artists and activists who are passionate about spreading the message of world peace through art, creating communication and acceptance by removing cultural biases one at the time. 

What we accomplished:

Delivering art supplies to the children of palestine

Promotional video for the children's exhibition at Rogue space

I am Nepal

I am Nepal

April 12, 2016

Rogue Foundation

Benefit Exhibition

I Am Nepal Children’s Empowerment Art Project
Benefit Exhibition and Auction
Thursday, April 21
6-9pm

What we set out to do:

I am Nepal is the seventh in a series of exhibitions by Rogue Foundation featuring the work of children in conflict zones around the world, expanding on I Am Haiti, I Am Afghanistan, I Am New York, I Am Syria, I Am Congo and I Am Palestine.

In February we brought the project to support the children of the Mother and Children Art Foundation at the Jyoti Public School, Kathmandu, the Hillside School in Lapsephedi and to the children of Artudio in the Dolackha region of Nepal, which was very severely damaged by the earthquake.

The concept of the art projects is to give children, who usually are painting for the very first time, the opportunity to create and express themselves in color and to imagine and manifest what they want to occur in their lives.

From this process the children experience the definite positive outcome in the form of an exhibition and sale of their work in Chelsea which is a dream of established artists around the world. The hope is this experience will encourage them to try more creative ventures in their lives and within their communities.

What we accomplished:

Financial contribution to further support art and education programs for  Mother and Children Art Foundation at the Jyoti Public School, Kathmandu, the Hillside School in Lapsephedi and to the children of Artudio in the Dolackha region of Nepal.

I am Congo

What we set out to do:

Continuing its mission working with children in conflict zones, Rogue Foundation competed an art in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo in October to support CAMME, a local organization specifically helping children who have not found help in more traditional rehabilitation centers.

The project brought art supplies for the children to paint and express, and was a week of creativity away from their daily struggles and concerns.

All proceeds from the sale of the children’s artwork are returned to them to fund their further education and development.

Children coming to CAMME have often been the victims of traumatic events that are too horrible for most of us to imagine – forced conscription as child soldiers, sexual assault, starvation, begging on the street, and more.

The project follows the same format as Rogue Foundation’s previous in Cambodia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Syria and in New York’s homeless shelters with an exhibition of the children’s work planned at Rogue Space | Chelsea in December.   All proceeds being returned to the children to further support their educational and lifeskill programs.

Not only is Goma located in the midst of a Congo’s red zone, where civilians are routinely slaughtered or raped by soldiers and rebels, but it is also the most volcano-threatened city on earth and commonly regarded as the most dangerous city in the world. The conflict in Congo has claimed in excess of  5 million casualties, more than any war since WWII.

At CAMME, the children are offered a variety of vocational training opportunities, psychosocial assistance, and nutritional support.

Upcoming RF projects are planned for Palestine, Burma, Bangladesh and Cambodia.

Art supplies for the project were sponsored by the Christopher Art Foundation.

What we accomplished:

I Am Madagascar

The very first paintings by hundreds of children from northern Madagascar's rainforest, one of the poorest and most environmentally threatened regions of the world,  were exhibited in a fundraising exhibition and champagne reception December at Rogue Space | Chelsea.

Many of the paintings were created from naturally occurring pigments extracted from native fruits and plants such as rangazaha (sword leaf wax lily), vanilla, cloves and trotrobato (bush currents). The exhibition was a unique opportunity to experience the biodiversity, colors and fragrances of the Madagascar rainforest through the children’s creative renderings.

100% of proceeds were returned to support the children’s further education and assist sustainable community eco projects.  All proceeds will be administered by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Madagascar to fund art programs in the communities where the children live.

The I Am Madagascar Children’s Empowerment Art Project was the eight in a series of exhibitions by Rogue Foundation showcasing the work of children in need from around the world, following on from I Am Haiti, I Am Afghanistan, I Am Syria, I Am New York, I Am Congo and I Am Palestine and I Am Nepal.  

With each project Rogue Foundation brings art supplies to children living in conflict zones or economically challenged areas around the world, inviting them to create, to express, to share and to heal.  Their works are exhibited at Rogue Space Gallery and 100% of funds are returned to the children to support their ongoing education and development.

The I Am Madagascar Children’s Empowerment Art Project is a collaboration between Rogue Foundation, Conservation through Poverty Alleviation International (CPALI.org) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS.org). 

The project team visited village children in the Makira/Masoala/Maroantsetra área of Northern Madagascar, the largest remaining track to rainforest in the world.  The concept of the art projects is to give children, who usually are painting for the very first time, the opportunity to create and express themselves in color and to imagine and manifest what they want to occur in their lives and in their communities.

For information on how to purchase the paintings in this exhibition please contact us at at info@RogueFoundation.org or at 212-751-2210.  Your purchase will be helping a child in need reach their goals in life and support communities at the edge of the world’s largest remaining rainforest in Madagascar.

Rogue Foundation projects are 100% funded by events at Rogue Space | Chelsea event and exhibition space.

With kindness,

Kevin O'Hanlon

Founder, Rogue Foundation